No virtue is as powerful and transformational as the spirit of gratitude. Gratitude is is at heart of all major faiths and religions. All the right-minded philosophers, scholars, sages and scientists have glorified gratefulness as a mighty energizer.
(A Universal Perspective)
Aslam Bazmi
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we
have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into
a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow.
-Melody Beattie
Of all human virtues, gratitude is the most blossoming and soul-nurturing state of mind. Gratefulness ennobles and elevates human life. The spirit of gratitude is rightly acclaimed as a powerful energizer, a mighty enabler, a quiet joy and an abiding feast. It is a unique phenomenal force, and a divine recipe to stay happy and sail smooth in the turbulent sea of fears and failures. Gratitude is immensely supportive and transformative. It has been the secret of many an enviable tale of success and glory. In the words of Johannes A Gaertner, "To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven."
Gratitude is at the heart of all faiths¬—Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Shinto, Confucianism, Jainism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and others. Fundamentally, all religions preach indebtedness to God, and the powers of nature that nourish and sustain our life on this planet. Glorifying gratitude, Bhagavad Gita states, "Whatever I am offered in devotion with a pure heart—a leaf, flower, fruit or water—I accept with joy." In Hinduism, the description of various stages of gratitude in Satapatha Brahmana highlights the necessity of feeling grateful for all that happens in one's life: "When a man is born, whoever he may be, there is born simultaneously a debt to the gods, to the sages, to the ancestors, and to men." According to Buddhism, "The unworthy man is ungrateful, forgetful of benefits [done to him]. This ingratitude, this forgetfulness is congenial to mean people... But the worthy person is grateful and mindful of benefits done to him. This gratitude, this mindfulness, is congenial to the best people (Anguttara Nikaya)." Another passionate Buddhist narration of the spirit of gratitude appears in the following lines:
You, the World Honoured One, are a great benefactor.
By doing this rare thing,
You taught and benefited us
Out of your compassion towards us.
No one will be able to repay your favours
Even if he tries to do it
For many hundreds of millions of kalpas.
No one will be able to repay your favours
Even if he bows to you respectfully,
And offers you his hands or feet or anything else.
No one will be able to repay your favours
Even if he carries you on his head or shoulders
And respects you from the bottom of his heart
For as many kalpas
As there are sands in the River Ganges.
-Lotus Sutra
Buddha's insightful advice, couched in the following plain words, is worth paying solemn heed: ..."If we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." We find a similar message in the inspiring words of Dalai Lama: "Everyday think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious life, and I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself in order to expand my heart out to others." In One Hundred Poems on Jewelled Spear by Noringa Motoori we find Shinto expression of gratitude in the following lines:
Forget not the grace
Of generations of ancestors;
From age to age, the ancestors
Are our own ujigami,
Gods of our families.
Father and mother
Are gods of the family;
Even so, honour them as gods with
Heartfelt service,
All you of human birth.
Zarathustra, the ancient Iranian prophet, teaches man to align himself to the diverse ways of life. Man has to accept life on its own terms, "take it as he finds it, make as much of it as he can, rejoice in it, and glory in it." Zoroastrians believe that their religious festival, Jashn-e-Sadeh, also known as the day of kindness, ignites the significance of fire, energy and light—the light that flows from God and warms the hearts of all creatures. The philosophy of Confucianism is also based on gratitude. The great Chinese philosopher, Confucius preached all his life selfless kindness without any expectation of reward. "Act with kindness, but do not expect gratitude, "is one of his celebrated sayings. Confucius advises us to be kind to our parents, take care of them in their old age, feed them nicely and tell jokes to make them happy. Ahimsa, the main ethical teaching of Jainism, espouses non-violence toward all living things. This implies not only an attitude of compassion but also a profound spirit of gratitude to the Creator of life. In Taoism, bowing is a manifest example of practising gratitude, respect and appreciation. Taoists seek to connect themselves with a deep sense of appreciation for all the good things they have received in their lives. All the teachings of Taoism are indeed founded on simplicity and gratitude. We also find a sublime expression of gratitude in the following lines attributed to Guru Nanak:
In the cool, dew-drenched night are shining the stars:
At this hour are awake the devotees, lovers of God,
meditating each day on the Name--
Their hearts meditating on the lotus feet of God,
whom they forsake not for an instant.
In Judaism, gratitude is the core element of worship. Practising Jews rise every morning with the prayer, Modeh Ani: "I am grateful to God for bringing life to me each and every day." In the Hebrew Scriptures, gratitude is the copious theme of Psalms which are replete with thanksgiving to God: "O Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you forever" and "I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart"). The devout Jews praise God on hearing good or bad news. The following two quotes from the Jewish scriptures are highly instructive of the prime place of gratitude in Judaism:
Be not like those who honour their gods in prosperity and curse them in
adversity. In pleasure or pain, give thanks!
-Midrash, Mekilta to Exodus 20.20
Abraham caused God's name to be mentioned by all the travellers whom he
entertained. For, after they had eaten and drunk, and when they arose to
bless Abraham, he said to them, "Is it of mine that you have eaten?
Surely it is of what belongs to God that you have eaten. So praise and
bless Him by whose word the world was created."
-Talmud, Sota
Gratitude is also central in Christian virtues and finds its ample mention in Old and New Testament, as well as in classical and modern devotional writings. Christianity views God as the bestower of all gifts and bounties and the Instiller of the spirit of gratitude. The Bible says, "The Word of God tells us that all we have is a gift from God (James 1:17). 17th Century revivalist and theologian, Jonathan Edwards describes In his classic work titled, 'A Treatise Concerning Religious Affection' two types of gratitude, that is, natural gratitude and sagacious or spiritual gratitude. Natural gratitude refers to thanks offered to God for the benefits a person receives. At a much higher plane, gracious gratitude emanates from the knowledge or awareness of the goodness of God , independent of the favours or blessings received. The first commandment, "You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with your entire mind, " and the second commandment, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself" accentuate the value of gratitude to God and thankfulness to others through loving actions. The following select Bible teachings on gratitude further amplify the essence of gratitude:
To the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent O Lord , my God.
I will give thanks unto Thee forever.
— Psalms 30:12
Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth,
Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
— Psalms 147:7-8
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks:
for this is the will of God.
— I. Thessalonians 5:16-18
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
— I Timothy 2:1
For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused,
if it be received with thanksgiving:
For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
— I Timothy 4:4-5
Gratitude is one of the most fundamental aspects of Islam. The opening lines of the first surah of the Quran begin with the words, " In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, and the Most Merciful. All the praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the mankind and all that exists." At another place, the Quran says, " It is He who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when you knew nothing, and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affection so that you may give thanks (to God)'' {16:78}. The faithful are further reminded of God's kindness to them: "And He subjected for you the sun and the moon, continuous [in orbit], and subjected for you the night and the day. And He gave you from all you asked of Him. And if you should count the favour [i.e., blessings] of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, mankind is [generally] most unjust and ungrateful" (Al-Quran, 14: 32, 34). The same theme is reiterated in Surah Luqman (31:12): "Be grateful to Allah. And whoever is grateful, he is grateful only for his own soul; and whoever is ungrateful, then surely Allah is Self-sufficient, Praised." The following verses remind the faithful to remember with gratitude God's splendid favours.
It is God Who has made the night for you, that you may rest therein, and
the day, as that which helps you to see. Verily God is full of grace and
bounty to men, yet most men give no thanks.
It is God Who has made for you the earth as a resting place, and the sky
as a canopy, and has given you shape—and made your shapes beautiful—and
has provided for you sustenance of things pure and good; such is God, your
Lord. So glory to God, the Lord of the Worlds!
-Al-Qur'an 40:61, 64
In Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam, there is a description of different stages of gratitude: the first is gratitude for the gifts received from God; a higher sate is when one becomes grateful even for not receiving gifts or for being delayed or denied the fulfilment of a hope or a prayer. In this state one sees blessings disguised in affliction. The final state of gratitude recognizes the insufficiency of worship to express gratitude to the Creator. This stage of gratitude views even the capacity to feel grateful as a divine blessing. Right-minded Muslims greet one another with an Arabic prayer, "assalam-o-alikum" meaning 'May you live in peace!'. They express gratitude to God by saying Alhamd-o-Lillah meaning, "All praise be to the Lord" whenever a good things happens in their lives, and as a regular grace after each meal as well as even at the time of sneezing. The spiritually evolved utter Alhamd-o-lillah even in the moments of misfortune. The Islamic injunctions—prayer five times a day; a month of fasting; a pilgrimage to Mecca once in life; Zakat, a charity subscription for the poor—and emphasis on acts of charity are the parts of a systematic plan to cultivate in Muslims a spirit of humility and gratitude.
Quite a few ethically inspired scientists are equally appreciative of gratitude as a highly fulfilling element of human existence. It would be instructive to note Albert Einstein's expression of gratitude in the following words, "Many times a day I realize how much my own life is built on the labours of my fellowmen, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received."At another place he observes, "The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion", and to summon the mystic emotion one has to embrace a state of meditation, prayer and gratitude. The celebrated words of Galileo, "I don't feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended for us to forgo their use" also imply grateful acknowledgment of God's gifts of reason and intellect to people who meditate and ponder over the mysteries of life. Equally insightful is his advice phrased in a rather hilarious language: "When counting, try not to mix chickens with blessings."
When the sublime spirit of gratitude possesses an individual, it makes him far larger and nobler than his normal self. Nobel laureate, Sir Alexander Fleming, the saviour of millions of human lives through his discovery of Penicillin, the world's first antibiotic, chose to live a less prosperous but spiritually far enriching life. As reported in the posthumously published work titled Baba Sahiba (2008) by a noted Pakistani scholar and writer, late Professor Ashfaq Ahmad, an American businessman offered Sir Fleming a monthly royalty of 10% on the total sale proceeds of the medicine. The income from the royalty was estimated to equal the annual revenue budget of Holland and Belgium at that time. But to everyone's surprise, spurning aside this astronomical offer, Fleming decided to give the sole rights of producing Penicillin to another firm for a pittance of just 1%, but insisted that he himself would draw up the agreement deed. During his framing of the agreement clauses late at night, Fleming noted that the conditions were exceedingly favourable to him and sounded a bit dictatorial. He became perturbed at the thought of selling the newfound antibiotic which he viewed as a heavenly gift. He immediately tore to pieces the agreement and offered the Penicillin formula free of cost to anyone in the world who could be interested in manufacturing this life-saving drug for the larger good of mankind. His philanthropic example has since inspired and transformed the lives of many great figures in history. Overwhelmed with gratitude, Warren Buffet, the second richest man on earth, astonished the world by y donating to charity as much largesse as 33 billion US Dollar.
The gifts of gratitude are too numerous to count. Gratefulness enhances the quality of human life not only physically and mentally but also intellectually and spiritually. In sheer greed, we often lose sight of what prized possessions we have—food, shelter, health, education, respect, physical grace and other innumerable boons¬¬—which many around us continue to hanker after. In the words of Eric Hoffer, a noted American social writer and philosopher and the author of The True Believer, "The hardest arithmetic is to count our blessings." Let us peep for a while into the misery of a handicapped person and try to imagine his utter sense of deprivation.
During his visit to a friend dying of cancer, this author was moved to tears to hear in the latter's feeble voice his mournful yearning, "Please pray that God enables me to walk to toilet on my own feet ". The author wonders how many people enjoying good health care to remember God with gratitude for their ability to eat walk and sleep well, and for the convenience to answer unaided calls of nature.
A day's sickness makes many of us bitter and churlish. Just think of the affliction of those who have been seldom well. Yet, unfortunately not many of us feel contented and grateful enough about staying fit and healthy most of the time. Do we make it a point to bow in gratitude as a noble habit before the Almighty for His bestowal of robust health, happiness and prosperity? The writer fears not many people might be doing so in sincere gratitude. This in his view is the root cause of our developing gradually a disposition of ingratitude. A little conscious thought of what all we have—to the envy and pain of teeming millions— will bring us tremendous peace and serenity that no amount of riches can supply. In the eyes of Epictetus, a Greek stoic philosopher, "A wise man is one who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." Let us think for a moment of the agony of a person who has no spouse, no offspring, no shelter, and no means of subsistence. Such introspection will essentially cleanse our soul of the black feeling of ingratitude and rid us of the ever-gnawing rodent of discontentment. God Almighty certainly is no in no need of our thanks and praise; it is indeed to our own benefit to remember Him gratefully for His countless boons and blessings. This will confer on us true happiness, hope, faith, courage and strength which none else can furnish.
The healing power of gratitude is almost a universal truth. This author is a close witness to the magical power of the mighty potion of gratitude. He was amazed at the tremendous recovery of two terminally ill patients years ago, against the medics' most frightening prediction of their survival for not more than a few months. In one of these two episodes, a lady was belatedly diagnosed of an acute breast cancer. Otherwise a very devout, grateful and vivacious lady, she looked aghast and totally distraught at the news of her inevitable mastectomy the other day , robbing her of one of her breasts forever. But only a few days later, it was amazing to see her back in her old cheerful spirits, brimming with even greater humility and gratitude. Confiding to her spouse, the oncologist advised the former to be more caring and indulgent to the lady in view of her extremely reduced life expectancy. But incredibly, against everybody's conjecture, she lived an active and vibrant life for long 15 years—breathing gratitude every moment of her existence, till she finally died of cardiac infarction in 2003. In the second case dated as far back as 1984, a saintly person, Mr Bashir was pinned down by throat carcinoma. The surgeon, who operated on him, held out little hope of the patient's survival beyond a year or so. When the author visited the infirmary to inquire after his health, Mr Bashir was reading a book about some great saints. In early eighties, it was a kind of taboo in Pakistan to talk about cancer but Mr Bashir was brave enough to break the dreaded news himself. The author was taken aback to see him enviably composed wearing the same usual warm smile. As he tried to assure him that cancer was fairly curable, thanks to the newly discovered medicine and treatment techniques, he was quick to add, "Well, the medics know only what the books, clinical investigation, and their experience and professional insights tell them. The ultimate Arbiter of life and death is only God, our Nourisher and Sustainer." With his sheer faith and the saintly spirit of gratitude, Mr Bashir, God be praised, is still vigorously alive. For the past over 24 years, he has been running a private school at Pabbi, a small roadside town near Peshawar.
Another dimension of healing, a much superior in its own right, to this writer's mind is God's kindness in giving the disabled folk extraordinary strength and courage to cope with the harshness of life. Behind the astounding achievements and triumphs of some handicapped celebrities like Helen Keller; the famed Jeremy Beadle, the British TV presenter, writer and producer; and paraplegic brainy professor Stephen Hawkins, acclaimed as the greatest scientist after Albert Einstein, will be found a deep-down spirit of gratitude and happy resignation with their lives. Other famous figures afflicted with consuming diseases include Peter, the Great(asthma); Charles Dickens(epilepsy);H G Wells (diabetes); Winston Churchill(dyslexia);Elizabeth Taylor(asthma); Walt Disney(dyslexia); Allan Freeman (arthritis); and Tony Blair(palsy). The power of gratitude indeed transcends the imagination of millions of commoners with robust physical health and sturdiness suffering from the endemic of ingratitude.
Two glorious tributes to God's kindness appear in the spiritually enriching verses of Ralph Waldo Emerson, an English essayist and George Herbert, a Welsh poet and priest:
(I owe Thee, O my Lord my deepest gratitude)
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night
For health and food, for love and friends
For everything Thy goodness sends
-Emerson
Thou hast given so much to me
Give one thing more-a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me
As if Thy blessings had spare days
Butt such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise
-George Herbert
And so prayed William Shakespeare: "O Lord, who lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness."
Thankfulness is not only a sign of nobility but also an unfailing source of abiding happiness deriving from the experience of living every minute with love, grace and humility. To quote Seneca, a great Roman philosopher, "There is as much greatness of mind in acknowledging a good turn, as in doing it." We find a similar message in the advice of William Arthur, the most quoted American writer, when he remarked, "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a gift and not giving it." He very touchingly reminds us that "God gave us a gift of 86,400 seconds every day. Do we use one to say 'thank you'?" To a gentle and civilized person, no duty is as urgent as returning thanks. It is an act of wickedness not to thank people. Such an attitude can only fatten our ego and fill us with sickening pride and arrogance at the cost of our spiritual well-being. Nobel laureate William Faulkner, one of the most influential writers of the 20th century offers a very interesting remark in these words: "Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all." In an interdependent society, we can't live by ourselves. It must be acknowledged and appreciated that even the lowest ranking person makes his or her contribution, however small or minor, to the societal good. Someone has very rightly said," The only people with whom we should try to get even are those who have helped us". Each one of us has a cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have ignited the flame within us—our parents, teachers, scholars, sages, saints, scientists, colleagues, friends and mentors. In a lesser context, we should be equally grateful to people who guided, assisted and supported us in one way or the other: plumbers, masons, gardeners, cobblers, cabmen and janitors, for instance. The spirit of thankfulness endures when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.
In our daily lives we observe that it is not happiness that makes us thankful; rather it is always gratefulness that triggers true happiness. Both abundance and privation exist side by side in our lives. When we choose not to be consumed in frustration for what is missing from our lives, and are grateful for the abundance around— love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits—we become entitled to enter the magnificent garden of joy and pleasure and, to quote an anonymous writer, "the wasteland of illusion falls away." In the view of Abraham Maslow, the founder of humanistic psychology, "The most fortunate are those who have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life with awe, pleasure, wonder, and even ecstasy." Such are the appreciators of boons unbought: the earth filled with oxygen; fabulous flora and fauna, pleasant sunshine, melodious songs; swarms of butterflies hugging and kissing fragrantly colourful flowers; flocks of birds sailing in the sky—and our ability to touch, taste, smile, walk, sleep, play, giggle and laugh. One would be bewildered to think of an array of incredible machines working in human body—the heart, brain, lungs, kidneys, liver, stomach, pancreas, and a network of veins and capillaries carrying blood to vital organs. Equally amazing is the working of our eyes, ears, tongue, nose and the wonderful limbs such as fingers, hands, arms, legs and the support skeleton, forging together a supreme model of creation of which the Creator Himself proudly proclaims in the Holy Quran (95: 4), "Verily We created man in the best stature (mould)".
Wonderstruck by an old man living in a small ramshackle hut with apparently no means of subsistence, a young inquisitive boy one day asked the old saint who gave him food. Pointing his index finger gratefully to the sky, the saint beckoned to the boy to get aside and let reach unto him the refreshingly warm sun rays, a heavenly gift from Lord of the universe. This is the acme of faith beyond the perception of commoners like us. The immense spirit of gratitude transcends all kinds of conditions and circumstances. Imam Abu Hanifa, a great Muslim jurist and cloth merchant by profession, was once delivering a sermon to his students when he was informed of sinking of the ship that carried his merchandise. The Imam spontaneously chanted Alhamd-o-Lillah (God be praised) and resumed his lecture without any sign of sorrow on his face. Only moments later, the news was found to be false and the Imam uttered again Alhamd-o-Lillah. Surprised by his similar response in two entirely different situations, his disciples sought his learned explanation. The great Imam replied that his thanks were due to God in both the cases. In the first instance he instantly looked towards his heart and was pleased to find that there was not even the faintest sign of regret. Thanks to God were again incumbent on him on hearing the good news which caused in his heart no feeling of vanity. This is certainly a supreme example of remaining grateful under all conditions. It is a state that one is capable of developing gradually with deeper perception of God's blessings.
Gratitude is a highly gratifying exercise of mind, stimulating "an inward satisfaction that the duty is sufficiently rewarded by the performance", as the English essayist, poet and politician, Joseph Addison put it. Charles Dickens advises us, "to reflect on our present blessings, of which every man has plenty, and not on our past misfortunes of which all men have some." And we find similar message most vibrantly epitomized in Helen Keller's saintly words: "I thank God for my handicaps for, through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God." One of Sheikh Saadi's parables narrates the story of a poor man without a pair of slippers. The latter profusely cursed his fate when he had to walk barefooted in the blazing sun. He would have continued in his grouch, had he not spied yonder another person without feet. Forgetting his complaint, he promptly prostrated before God, thanking Him profusely for an excellent pair of walking feet. According to some hypothetical calculations, if it were possible to invent a mechanical brain, it would need to remain in operation electrical voltage equivalent to the power requirements of a large city of the size of New York or Paris. We seldom think of this invaluable 3-pound powerhouse, structured around one billion neurons, that God has supplied to all and sundry. From this premise, even a penniless person is virtually affluent beyond all calculations.
Ingratitude and discontentment, the twin siblings of greed, are the greatest enemy of human affection and happiness. Insatiable lust and greed have robbed man of his inner peace, with all its charms and exuberance. The cuckoo song no longer enchants our souls nor do daffodils seem to dance any more. When people are blinded by the glitter of worldly gains, higher values of life lose their meaning, and humans become the hapless captives of avarice and greed. Much of our grief and misery will vanish if we developed an instinctive attitude of gratefulness. We must cheerfully and generously acknowledge small favours by our fellow human beings. A simple stock-phrase 'thank you' uttered with sincerity will have wondrous effect on its recipient, besides enabling us to fulfil a basic social and moral obligation.
It is a pity that while we care to thank our friends and colleagues for small favours and acts of kindness, we seldom bother to express gratitude to the Maker and Sustainer of this universe for what Seneca describes as "the freedom and command of the whole earth, and for the great benefits of our being, our life, health, and reason, for which we often tend to look upon ourselves as under no obligation." The author has tried to highlight this aspect of human ingratitude in the following lines of one of his poems captioned 'The Bounteous Lord" published in Bazmics (2002):
Who supports the flight of birds
In the naked sky?
Who commands clouds to bathe
The parching earth?
Who decrees seeds to sprout?
Who enjoins plants to grow
Laden with buds, flowers and fruit?
It's none save, Allah
It is a pity we thank Him not
As befits His glory and grace!
The author fully subscribes to Dr Wayne W Dyer's view expressed in his book, The Power of Intention (2004) that gratitude is similar to being in a state of respect. When we sincerely give respect to others, it becomes contagious and seldom fails to return manifold. The edifying spirit of gratitude knows no bounds, no confines. We all owe gratitude to mankind, our planet and the creatures and vegetations. We should earnestly seek to make environment and ecology safe and livable. Let's be thankful to the generations of scholars, philosophers, sages, saints, scientists, inventors, discoverers and researchers down the ages for their contributions towards affording us comforts and promoting healthcare, knowledge, insights, spirituality and intellectual enrichment. We must also look at our life cycle—the jobs, attainments, failures, losses and successes— from the perspective of gratitude.
John Dryden, an influential English poet rightly said that if a person has lived, his thanks are due for the past. Through meditation and positive analysis we will find that we owe our thanks even to people who caused us pain and torment because they all were instrumental in teaching us something. Much of our misery will vanish by softening our hearts and being willing to forgive our adversaries. Forgiveness that essentially flows from the heavenly spirit of gratitude is a key to enlarge our future. An excellent description on the elixir of forgiveness appears in the following visionary message of Hanna Moore, a famous English religious writer and philanthropist: "Forgiveness is the economy of heart...forgiveness saves the expense of anger...the cost of hatred and the waste of spirits."
The state of gratefulness also reflects in a person's disposition to appreciate with admiration and awe even the dreams not yet fulfilled. Once we are able to develop this capacity, then we can brave even the darkest moments of life with courage and hope. We need to build faith that everything willed by God Almighty is purposeful, and in His infinite mercy, He is willing to provide us in abundance every blessing we may cherish to attract in our lives. Those who are able to tune in His frequency are well aware of this secret beyond any doubt, and they are certainly the blessed souls. Let's therefore breathe gratitude day and night, and be appreciative of God's boons and wonders—the Kindler of one thousand billion stars.
Without cultivating a true spirit of gratitude, it is not possible to pursue lasting happiness. Contentment and gratefulness may not increase our physical possessions but they do enlarge our capacity to enjoy fully all that we have. The thought of the less fortunate – the sick, poor, disabled and frail— can be a tremendous source for a person's motivation to work with a cheerful spirit of gratitude. The Almighty, in His infinite mercy, has most graciously shown us the path to lead a life of abundance, peace and prosperity. The spirit of thankfulness should be visible in our attitude and conduct. It must show in our being conscientious, devoted, patriotic, honest and kind to one another. It is through sincere gratitude that man can pursue enduring peace and happiness. Nothing will then sadden us in the hours of sadness; nothing will shake our resolution and optimism to serve the society with a true spirit of dedication. Gregg Krech, an American scholar and the practitioner of Buddhist methods of self-reflection, succinctly sums up in seven principles stated below the secrets of wooing the spirit of gratitude:
• Gratitude is independent of one's objective life circumstances;
• Gratitude is a function of attention;
• Entitlement makes gratitude impossible;
• When we continue to receive something on a regular basis, we typically begin to take it for granted;
• Our deepest sense of gratitude comes through grace— the awareness that we have not earned, nor do we deserve what we have been given;
• Gratitude can be cultivated through sincere self-reflection; and
• The expression of gratitude (through words and deeds) has the effect of heightening our personal experience of gratitude.
One would be overwhelmed with the pervasive evidence from all possible sources of human learning and wisdom pointing to the conclusive efficacy of gratitude to combat all negative human feelings and emotions. And once the soul is cleansed of ingratitude, man's quest for true peace and prosperity will triumph over all odds. In the words of John Henry Jowett, " Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road." The power of gratitude is too immense to be condensed even partially in this humble treatise. Suffice it to say, gratitude remains for all times to come the unfailing source of abiding bliss, sanctified as it is by the holy words in all faiths and substantiated by the sublime examples of saints and sages in all ages and cultures. Possessed of the ultimate spirit of gratitude, Mother Teresa holds out to mankind a lofty message in the following words:
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway
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Essay by ASLAM bAZMI
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THE POWER OF GRATITUDE
THE POWER OF GRATITUDE(A Universal Perspective)
Aslam Bazmi
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we
have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into
a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow.
-Melody Beattie
Of all human virtues, gratitude is the most blossoming and soul-nurturing state of mind. Gratefulness ennobles and elevates human life. The spirit of gratitude is rightly acclaimed as a powerful energizer, a mighty enabler, a quiet joy and an abiding feast. It is a unique phenomenal force, and a divine recipe to stay happy and sail smooth in the turbulent sea of fears and failures. Gratitude is immensely supportive and transformative. It has been the secret of many an enviable tale of success and glory. In the words of Johannes A Gaertner, "To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven."
Gratitude is at the heart of all faiths¬—Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Shinto, Confucianism, Jainism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and others. Fundamentally, all religions preach indebtedness to God, and the powers of nature that nourish and sustain our life on this planet. Glorifying gratitude, Bhagavad Gita states, "Whatever I am offered in devotion with a pure heart—a leaf, flower, fruit or water—I accept with joy." In Hinduism, the description of various stages of gratitude in Satapatha Brahmana highlights the necessity of feeling grateful for all that happens in one's life: "When a man is born, whoever he may be, there is born simultaneously a debt to the gods, to the sages, to the ancestors, and to men." According to Buddhism, "The unworthy man is ungrateful, forgetful of benefits [done to him]. This ingratitude, this forgetfulness is congenial to mean people... But the worthy person is grateful and mindful of benefits done to him. This gratitude, this mindfulness, is congenial to the best people (Anguttara Nikaya)." Another passionate Buddhist narration of the spirit of gratitude appears in the following lines:
You, the World Honoured One, are a great benefactor.
By doing this rare thing,
You taught and benefited us
Out of your compassion towards us.
No one will be able to repay your favours
Even if he tries to do it
For many hundreds of millions of kalpas.
No one will be able to repay your favours
Even if he bows to you respectfully,
And offers you his hands or feet or anything else.
No one will be able to repay your favours
Even if he carries you on his head or shoulders
And respects you from the bottom of his heart
For as many kalpas
As there are sands in the River Ganges.
-Lotus Sutra
Buddha's insightful advice, couched in the following plain words, is worth paying solemn heed: ..."If we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." We find a similar message in the inspiring words of Dalai Lama: "Everyday think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious life, and I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself in order to expand my heart out to others." In One Hundred Poems on Jewelled Spear by Noringa Motoori we find Shinto expression of gratitude in the following lines:
Forget not the grace
Of generations of ancestors;
From age to age, the ancestors
Are our own ujigami,
Gods of our families.
Father and mother
Are gods of the family;
Even so, honour them as gods with
Heartfelt service,
All you of human birth.
Zarathustra, the ancient Iranian prophet, teaches man to align himself to the diverse ways of life. Man has to accept life on its own terms, "take it as he finds it, make as much of it as he can, rejoice in it, and glory in it." Zoroastrians believe that their religious festival, Jashn-e-Sadeh, also known as the day of kindness, ignites the significance of fire, energy and light—the light that flows from God and warms the hearts of all creatures. The philosophy of Confucianism is also based on gratitude. The great Chinese philosopher, Confucius preached all his life selfless kindness without any expectation of reward. "Act with kindness, but do not expect gratitude, "is one of his celebrated sayings. Confucius advises us to be kind to our parents, take care of them in their old age, feed them nicely and tell jokes to make them happy. Ahimsa, the main ethical teaching of Jainism, espouses non-violence toward all living things. This implies not only an attitude of compassion but also a profound spirit of gratitude to the Creator of life. In Taoism, bowing is a manifest example of practising gratitude, respect and appreciation. Taoists seek to connect themselves with a deep sense of appreciation for all the good things they have received in their lives. All the teachings of Taoism are indeed founded on simplicity and gratitude. We also find a sublime expression of gratitude in the following lines attributed to Guru Nanak:
In the cool, dew-drenched night are shining the stars:
At this hour are awake the devotees, lovers of God,
meditating each day on the Name--
Their hearts meditating on the lotus feet of God,
whom they forsake not for an instant.
In Judaism, gratitude is the core element of worship. Practising Jews rise every morning with the prayer, Modeh Ani: "I am grateful to God for bringing life to me each and every day." In the Hebrew Scriptures, gratitude is the copious theme of Psalms which are replete with thanksgiving to God: "O Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you forever" and "I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart"). The devout Jews praise God on hearing good or bad news. The following two quotes from the Jewish scriptures are highly instructive of the prime place of gratitude in Judaism:
Be not like those who honour their gods in prosperity and curse them in
adversity. In pleasure or pain, give thanks!
-Midrash, Mekilta to Exodus 20.20
Abraham caused God's name to be mentioned by all the travellers whom he
entertained. For, after they had eaten and drunk, and when they arose to
bless Abraham, he said to them, "Is it of mine that you have eaten?
Surely it is of what belongs to God that you have eaten. So praise and
bless Him by whose word the world was created."
-Talmud, Sota
Gratitude is also central in Christian virtues and finds its ample mention in Old and New Testament, as well as in classical and modern devotional writings. Christianity views God as the bestower of all gifts and bounties and the Instiller of the spirit of gratitude. The Bible says, "The Word of God tells us that all we have is a gift from God (James 1:17). 17th Century revivalist and theologian, Jonathan Edwards describes In his classic work titled, 'A Treatise Concerning Religious Affection' two types of gratitude, that is, natural gratitude and sagacious or spiritual gratitude. Natural gratitude refers to thanks offered to God for the benefits a person receives. At a much higher plane, gracious gratitude emanates from the knowledge or awareness of the goodness of God , independent of the favours or blessings received. The first commandment, "You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with your entire mind, " and the second commandment, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself" accentuate the value of gratitude to God and thankfulness to others through loving actions. The following select Bible teachings on gratitude further amplify the essence of gratitude:
To the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent O Lord , my God.
I will give thanks unto Thee forever.
— Psalms 30:12
Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth,
Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
— Psalms 147:7-8
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks:
for this is the will of God.
— I. Thessalonians 5:16-18
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
— I Timothy 2:1
For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused,
if it be received with thanksgiving:
For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
— I Timothy 4:4-5
Gratitude is one of the most fundamental aspects of Islam. The opening lines of the first surah of the Quran begin with the words, " In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, and the Most Merciful. All the praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the mankind and all that exists." At another place, the Quran says, " It is He who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when you knew nothing, and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affection so that you may give thanks (to God)'' {16:78}. The faithful are further reminded of God's kindness to them: "And He subjected for you the sun and the moon, continuous [in orbit], and subjected for you the night and the day. And He gave you from all you asked of Him. And if you should count the favour [i.e., blessings] of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, mankind is [generally] most unjust and ungrateful" (Al-Quran, 14: 32, 34). The same theme is reiterated in Surah Luqman (31:12): "Be grateful to Allah. And whoever is grateful, he is grateful only for his own soul; and whoever is ungrateful, then surely Allah is Self-sufficient, Praised." The following verses remind the faithful to remember with gratitude God's splendid favours.
It is God Who has made the night for you, that you may rest therein, and
the day, as that which helps you to see. Verily God is full of grace and
bounty to men, yet most men give no thanks.
It is God Who has made for you the earth as a resting place, and the sky
as a canopy, and has given you shape—and made your shapes beautiful—and
has provided for you sustenance of things pure and good; such is God, your
Lord. So glory to God, the Lord of the Worlds!
-Al-Qur'an 40:61, 64
In Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam, there is a description of different stages of gratitude: the first is gratitude for the gifts received from God; a higher sate is when one becomes grateful even for not receiving gifts or for being delayed or denied the fulfilment of a hope or a prayer. In this state one sees blessings disguised in affliction. The final state of gratitude recognizes the insufficiency of worship to express gratitude to the Creator. This stage of gratitude views even the capacity to feel grateful as a divine blessing. Right-minded Muslims greet one another with an Arabic prayer, "assalam-o-alikum" meaning 'May you live in peace!'. They express gratitude to God by saying Alhamd-o-Lillah meaning, "All praise be to the Lord" whenever a good things happens in their lives, and as a regular grace after each meal as well as even at the time of sneezing. The spiritually evolved utter Alhamd-o-lillah even in the moments of misfortune. The Islamic injunctions—prayer five times a day; a month of fasting; a pilgrimage to Mecca once in life; Zakat, a charity subscription for the poor—and emphasis on acts of charity are the parts of a systematic plan to cultivate in Muslims a spirit of humility and gratitude.
Quite a few ethically inspired scientists are equally appreciative of gratitude as a highly fulfilling element of human existence. It would be instructive to note Albert Einstein's expression of gratitude in the following words, "Many times a day I realize how much my own life is built on the labours of my fellowmen, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received."At another place he observes, "The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion", and to summon the mystic emotion one has to embrace a state of meditation, prayer and gratitude. The celebrated words of Galileo, "I don't feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended for us to forgo their use" also imply grateful acknowledgment of God's gifts of reason and intellect to people who meditate and ponder over the mysteries of life. Equally insightful is his advice phrased in a rather hilarious language: "When counting, try not to mix chickens with blessings."
When the sublime spirit of gratitude possesses an individual, it makes him far larger and nobler than his normal self. Nobel laureate, Sir Alexander Fleming, the saviour of millions of human lives through his discovery of Penicillin, the world's first antibiotic, chose to live a less prosperous but spiritually far enriching life. As reported in the posthumously published work titled Baba Sahiba (2008) by a noted Pakistani scholar and writer, late Professor Ashfaq Ahmad, an American businessman offered Sir Fleming a monthly royalty of 10% on the total sale proceeds of the medicine. The income from the royalty was estimated to equal the annual revenue budget of Holland and Belgium at that time. But to everyone's surprise, spurning aside this astronomical offer, Fleming decided to give the sole rights of producing Penicillin to another firm for a pittance of just 1%, but insisted that he himself would draw up the agreement deed. During his framing of the agreement clauses late at night, Fleming noted that the conditions were exceedingly favourable to him and sounded a bit dictatorial. He became perturbed at the thought of selling the newfound antibiotic which he viewed as a heavenly gift. He immediately tore to pieces the agreement and offered the Penicillin formula free of cost to anyone in the world who could be interested in manufacturing this life-saving drug for the larger good of mankind. His philanthropic example has since inspired and transformed the lives of many great figures in history. Overwhelmed with gratitude, Warren Buffet, the second richest man on earth, astonished the world by y donating to charity as much largesse as 33 billion US Dollar.
The gifts of gratitude are too numerous to count. Gratefulness enhances the quality of human life not only physically and mentally but also intellectually and spiritually. In sheer greed, we often lose sight of what prized possessions we have—food, shelter, health, education, respect, physical grace and other innumerable boons¬¬—which many around us continue to hanker after. In the words of Eric Hoffer, a noted American social writer and philosopher and the author of The True Believer, "The hardest arithmetic is to count our blessings." Let us peep for a while into the misery of a handicapped person and try to imagine his utter sense of deprivation.
During his visit to a friend dying of cancer, this author was moved to tears to hear in the latter's feeble voice his mournful yearning, "Please pray that God enables me to walk to toilet on my own feet ". The author wonders how many people enjoying good health care to remember God with gratitude for their ability to eat walk and sleep well, and for the convenience to answer unaided calls of nature.
A day's sickness makes many of us bitter and churlish. Just think of the affliction of those who have been seldom well. Yet, unfortunately not many of us feel contented and grateful enough about staying fit and healthy most of the time. Do we make it a point to bow in gratitude as a noble habit before the Almighty for His bestowal of robust health, happiness and prosperity? The writer fears not many people might be doing so in sincere gratitude. This in his view is the root cause of our developing gradually a disposition of ingratitude. A little conscious thought of what all we have—to the envy and pain of teeming millions— will bring us tremendous peace and serenity that no amount of riches can supply. In the eyes of Epictetus, a Greek stoic philosopher, "A wise man is one who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." Let us think for a moment of the agony of a person who has no spouse, no offspring, no shelter, and no means of subsistence. Such introspection will essentially cleanse our soul of the black feeling of ingratitude and rid us of the ever-gnawing rodent of discontentment. God Almighty certainly is no in no need of our thanks and praise; it is indeed to our own benefit to remember Him gratefully for His countless boons and blessings. This will confer on us true happiness, hope, faith, courage and strength which none else can furnish.
The healing power of gratitude is almost a universal truth. This author is a close witness to the magical power of the mighty potion of gratitude. He was amazed at the tremendous recovery of two terminally ill patients years ago, against the medics' most frightening prediction of their survival for not more than a few months. In one of these two episodes, a lady was belatedly diagnosed of an acute breast cancer. Otherwise a very devout, grateful and vivacious lady, she looked aghast and totally distraught at the news of her inevitable mastectomy the other day , robbing her of one of her breasts forever. But only a few days later, it was amazing to see her back in her old cheerful spirits, brimming with even greater humility and gratitude. Confiding to her spouse, the oncologist advised the former to be more caring and indulgent to the lady in view of her extremely reduced life expectancy. But incredibly, against everybody's conjecture, she lived an active and vibrant life for long 15 years—breathing gratitude every moment of her existence, till she finally died of cardiac infarction in 2003. In the second case dated as far back as 1984, a saintly person, Mr Bashir was pinned down by throat carcinoma. The surgeon, who operated on him, held out little hope of the patient's survival beyond a year or so. When the author visited the infirmary to inquire after his health, Mr Bashir was reading a book about some great saints. In early eighties, it was a kind of taboo in Pakistan to talk about cancer but Mr Bashir was brave enough to break the dreaded news himself. The author was taken aback to see him enviably composed wearing the same usual warm smile. As he tried to assure him that cancer was fairly curable, thanks to the newly discovered medicine and treatment techniques, he was quick to add, "Well, the medics know only what the books, clinical investigation, and their experience and professional insights tell them. The ultimate Arbiter of life and death is only God, our Nourisher and Sustainer." With his sheer faith and the saintly spirit of gratitude, Mr Bashir, God be praised, is still vigorously alive. For the past over 24 years, he has been running a private school at Pabbi, a small roadside town near Peshawar.
Another dimension of healing, a much superior in its own right, to this writer's mind is God's kindness in giving the disabled folk extraordinary strength and courage to cope with the harshness of life. Behind the astounding achievements and triumphs of some handicapped celebrities like Helen Keller; the famed Jeremy Beadle, the British TV presenter, writer and producer; and paraplegic brainy professor Stephen Hawkins, acclaimed as the greatest scientist after Albert Einstein, will be found a deep-down spirit of gratitude and happy resignation with their lives. Other famous figures afflicted with consuming diseases include Peter, the Great(asthma); Charles Dickens(epilepsy);H G Wells (diabetes); Winston Churchill(dyslexia);Elizabeth Taylor(asthma); Walt Disney(dyslexia); Allan Freeman (arthritis); and Tony Blair(palsy). The power of gratitude indeed transcends the imagination of millions of commoners with robust physical health and sturdiness suffering from the endemic of ingratitude.
Two glorious tributes to God's kindness appear in the spiritually enriching verses of Ralph Waldo Emerson, an English essayist and George Herbert, a Welsh poet and priest:
(I owe Thee, O my Lord my deepest gratitude)
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night
For health and food, for love and friends
For everything Thy goodness sends
-Emerson
Thou hast given so much to me
Give one thing more-a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me
As if Thy blessings had spare days
Butt such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise
-George Herbert
And so prayed William Shakespeare: "O Lord, who lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness."
Thankfulness is not only a sign of nobility but also an unfailing source of abiding happiness deriving from the experience of living every minute with love, grace and humility. To quote Seneca, a great Roman philosopher, "There is as much greatness of mind in acknowledging a good turn, as in doing it." We find a similar message in the advice of William Arthur, the most quoted American writer, when he remarked, "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a gift and not giving it." He very touchingly reminds us that "God gave us a gift of 86,400 seconds every day. Do we use one to say 'thank you'?" To a gentle and civilized person, no duty is as urgent as returning thanks. It is an act of wickedness not to thank people. Such an attitude can only fatten our ego and fill us with sickening pride and arrogance at the cost of our spiritual well-being. Nobel laureate William Faulkner, one of the most influential writers of the 20th century offers a very interesting remark in these words: "Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all." In an interdependent society, we can't live by ourselves. It must be acknowledged and appreciated that even the lowest ranking person makes his or her contribution, however small or minor, to the societal good. Someone has very rightly said," The only people with whom we should try to get even are those who have helped us". Each one of us has a cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have ignited the flame within us—our parents, teachers, scholars, sages, saints, scientists, colleagues, friends and mentors. In a lesser context, we should be equally grateful to people who guided, assisted and supported us in one way or the other: plumbers, masons, gardeners, cobblers, cabmen and janitors, for instance. The spirit of thankfulness endures when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.
In our daily lives we observe that it is not happiness that makes us thankful; rather it is always gratefulness that triggers true happiness. Both abundance and privation exist side by side in our lives. When we choose not to be consumed in frustration for what is missing from our lives, and are grateful for the abundance around— love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits—we become entitled to enter the magnificent garden of joy and pleasure and, to quote an anonymous writer, "the wasteland of illusion falls away." In the view of Abraham Maslow, the founder of humanistic psychology, "The most fortunate are those who have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life with awe, pleasure, wonder, and even ecstasy." Such are the appreciators of boons unbought: the earth filled with oxygen; fabulous flora and fauna, pleasant sunshine, melodious songs; swarms of butterflies hugging and kissing fragrantly colourful flowers; flocks of birds sailing in the sky—and our ability to touch, taste, smile, walk, sleep, play, giggle and laugh. One would be bewildered to think of an array of incredible machines working in human body—the heart, brain, lungs, kidneys, liver, stomach, pancreas, and a network of veins and capillaries carrying blood to vital organs. Equally amazing is the working of our eyes, ears, tongue, nose and the wonderful limbs such as fingers, hands, arms, legs and the support skeleton, forging together a supreme model of creation of which the Creator Himself proudly proclaims in the Holy Quran (95: 4), "Verily We created man in the best stature (mould)".
Wonderstruck by an old man living in a small ramshackle hut with apparently no means of subsistence, a young inquisitive boy one day asked the old saint who gave him food. Pointing his index finger gratefully to the sky, the saint beckoned to the boy to get aside and let reach unto him the refreshingly warm sun rays, a heavenly gift from Lord of the universe. This is the acme of faith beyond the perception of commoners like us. The immense spirit of gratitude transcends all kinds of conditions and circumstances. Imam Abu Hanifa, a great Muslim jurist and cloth merchant by profession, was once delivering a sermon to his students when he was informed of sinking of the ship that carried his merchandise. The Imam spontaneously chanted Alhamd-o-Lillah (God be praised) and resumed his lecture without any sign of sorrow on his face. Only moments later, the news was found to be false and the Imam uttered again Alhamd-o-Lillah. Surprised by his similar response in two entirely different situations, his disciples sought his learned explanation. The great Imam replied that his thanks were due to God in both the cases. In the first instance he instantly looked towards his heart and was pleased to find that there was not even the faintest sign of regret. Thanks to God were again incumbent on him on hearing the good news which caused in his heart no feeling of vanity. This is certainly a supreme example of remaining grateful under all conditions. It is a state that one is capable of developing gradually with deeper perception of God's blessings.
Gratitude is a highly gratifying exercise of mind, stimulating "an inward satisfaction that the duty is sufficiently rewarded by the performance", as the English essayist, poet and politician, Joseph Addison put it. Charles Dickens advises us, "to reflect on our present blessings, of which every man has plenty, and not on our past misfortunes of which all men have some." And we find similar message most vibrantly epitomized in Helen Keller's saintly words: "I thank God for my handicaps for, through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God." One of Sheikh Saadi's parables narrates the story of a poor man without a pair of slippers. The latter profusely cursed his fate when he had to walk barefooted in the blazing sun. He would have continued in his grouch, had he not spied yonder another person without feet. Forgetting his complaint, he promptly prostrated before God, thanking Him profusely for an excellent pair of walking feet. According to some hypothetical calculations, if it were possible to invent a mechanical brain, it would need to remain in operation electrical voltage equivalent to the power requirements of a large city of the size of New York or Paris. We seldom think of this invaluable 3-pound powerhouse, structured around one billion neurons, that God has supplied to all and sundry. From this premise, even a penniless person is virtually affluent beyond all calculations.
Ingratitude and discontentment, the twin siblings of greed, are the greatest enemy of human affection and happiness. Insatiable lust and greed have robbed man of his inner peace, with all its charms and exuberance. The cuckoo song no longer enchants our souls nor do daffodils seem to dance any more. When people are blinded by the glitter of worldly gains, higher values of life lose their meaning, and humans become the hapless captives of avarice and greed. Much of our grief and misery will vanish if we developed an instinctive attitude of gratefulness. We must cheerfully and generously acknowledge small favours by our fellow human beings. A simple stock-phrase 'thank you' uttered with sincerity will have wondrous effect on its recipient, besides enabling us to fulfil a basic social and moral obligation.
It is a pity that while we care to thank our friends and colleagues for small favours and acts of kindness, we seldom bother to express gratitude to the Maker and Sustainer of this universe for what Seneca describes as "the freedom and command of the whole earth, and for the great benefits of our being, our life, health, and reason, for which we often tend to look upon ourselves as under no obligation." The author has tried to highlight this aspect of human ingratitude in the following lines of one of his poems captioned 'The Bounteous Lord" published in Bazmics (2002):
Who supports the flight of birds
In the naked sky?
Who commands clouds to bathe
The parching earth?
Who decrees seeds to sprout?
Who enjoins plants to grow
Laden with buds, flowers and fruit?
It's none save, Allah
It is a pity we thank Him not
As befits His glory and grace!
The author fully subscribes to Dr Wayne W Dyer's view expressed in his book, The Power of Intention (2004) that gratitude is similar to being in a state of respect. When we sincerely give respect to others, it becomes contagious and seldom fails to return manifold. The edifying spirit of gratitude knows no bounds, no confines. We all owe gratitude to mankind, our planet and the creatures and vegetations. We should earnestly seek to make environment and ecology safe and livable. Let's be thankful to the generations of scholars, philosophers, sages, saints, scientists, inventors, discoverers and researchers down the ages for their contributions towards affording us comforts and promoting healthcare, knowledge, insights, spirituality and intellectual enrichment. We must also look at our life cycle—the jobs, attainments, failures, losses and successes— from the perspective of gratitude.
John Dryden, an influential English poet rightly said that if a person has lived, his thanks are due for the past. Through meditation and positive analysis we will find that we owe our thanks even to people who caused us pain and torment because they all were instrumental in teaching us something. Much of our misery will vanish by softening our hearts and being willing to forgive our adversaries. Forgiveness that essentially flows from the heavenly spirit of gratitude is a key to enlarge our future. An excellent description on the elixir of forgiveness appears in the following visionary message of Hanna Moore, a famous English religious writer and philanthropist: "Forgiveness is the economy of heart...forgiveness saves the expense of anger...the cost of hatred and the waste of spirits."
The state of gratefulness also reflects in a person's disposition to appreciate with admiration and awe even the dreams not yet fulfilled. Once we are able to develop this capacity, then we can brave even the darkest moments of life with courage and hope. We need to build faith that everything willed by God Almighty is purposeful, and in His infinite mercy, He is willing to provide us in abundance every blessing we may cherish to attract in our lives. Those who are able to tune in His frequency are well aware of this secret beyond any doubt, and they are certainly the blessed souls. Let's therefore breathe gratitude day and night, and be appreciative of God's boons and wonders—the Kindler of one thousand billion stars.
Without cultivating a true spirit of gratitude, it is not possible to pursue lasting happiness. Contentment and gratefulness may not increase our physical possessions but they do enlarge our capacity to enjoy fully all that we have. The thought of the less fortunate – the sick, poor, disabled and frail— can be a tremendous source for a person's motivation to work with a cheerful spirit of gratitude. The Almighty, in His infinite mercy, has most graciously shown us the path to lead a life of abundance, peace and prosperity. The spirit of thankfulness should be visible in our attitude and conduct. It must show in our being conscientious, devoted, patriotic, honest and kind to one another. It is through sincere gratitude that man can pursue enduring peace and happiness. Nothing will then sadden us in the hours of sadness; nothing will shake our resolution and optimism to serve the society with a true spirit of dedication. Gregg Krech, an American scholar and the practitioner of Buddhist methods of self-reflection, succinctly sums up in seven principles stated below the secrets of wooing the spirit of gratitude:
• Gratitude is independent of one's objective life circumstances;
• Gratitude is a function of attention;
• Entitlement makes gratitude impossible;
• When we continue to receive something on a regular basis, we typically begin to take it for granted;
• Our deepest sense of gratitude comes through grace— the awareness that we have not earned, nor do we deserve what we have been given;
• Gratitude can be cultivated through sincere self-reflection; and
• The expression of gratitude (through words and deeds) has the effect of heightening our personal experience of gratitude.
One would be overwhelmed with the pervasive evidence from all possible sources of human learning and wisdom pointing to the conclusive efficacy of gratitude to combat all negative human feelings and emotions. And once the soul is cleansed of ingratitude, man's quest for true peace and prosperity will triumph over all odds. In the words of John Henry Jowett, " Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road." The power of gratitude is too immense to be condensed even partially in this humble treatise. Suffice it to say, gratitude remains for all times to come the unfailing source of abiding bliss, sanctified as it is by the holy words in all faiths and substantiated by the sublime examples of saints and sages in all ages and cultures. Possessed of the ultimate spirit of gratitude, Mother Teresa holds out to mankind a lofty message in the following words:
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway
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Essay by ASLAM bAZMI
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Written on 2009-11-29 at 17:20
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